Many houses in will continue collapse due to thunderstorms
Zamokwakhe Shabalala
Name: Zanele
Surname: Matonsi
Village: Allen farm
Local municipality: Dannhouser
Date:19 May 2024
Many houses in will continue collapse due to thunderstorms
Meet the Mncube family in Northern KwaZulu-Natal in Allen farm, a family of seven kids, mother and the father living in four roomed house. The Mncube home is few kilometers away from Magdalene mine.
Before this mining company came in this village, their house was in a good condition. Few months after they started mining, they started noticing cracks in the interior walls, horizontal cracks in the foundation, little did they know that was the beginning of their misery history. This family didn’t have everything but happiness. Until one afternoon on the 04 March 2024 their lives changed completely, during the day the weather was very hot, around 13:00 that afternoon the weather suddenly changed, and it started to rain but windy at the same time, after a few minutes they started experiencing severe thunderstorms.
They were all gathered in the house and everything happened so fast, one minute they were in their house happy and the next minute their house collapsed they were left with no roof over their heads.
They found themselves in that miserable situation with no one to turn to for help. When the storm was over we went outside and saw that their house had collapsed, we went there to spoke to the family. The mother was so heartbroken and devastated when we spoke she cried and her eyes were out,she said “Today I’m homeless it’s all because of this Magdalene mine, I could tell that my house was going to fall on me and my kids at any time, the way it was cracked it was so bad the whole structure was damaged” she broke down and sobbed like a child.
I called the Dannhouser municipality mayor Mr BA Hadebe and disaster management and ward 7 councilor Mrs Simelane they came on the following day. They all saw and witnessed the tragedy that happened to the Mncube family .
It is very sad that until this date the family is still homeless, they currently staying in one tiny and leaking room that they build after losing their four roomed house.
I strongly believe that Magdalene mine must help this family since what happened to this family is the after effect of this mine. This family has to be relocated to a place that is far away from this mine. The local municipality must also see to it that Magdalene mine takes full responsibility of this whole tragedy that happened to the Mncube family.
